


Between the Crosses

by Katiegirl901



Series: As You Wish [7]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-28 23:36:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21400522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiegirl901/pseuds/Katiegirl901
Summary: He knew it was going to be a bad day for her, the fact that they had both woken up to her screams not an hour earlier had cemented that fact. He didn’t enjoy this day all that much either, he understood the pride, the significance and the absolute importance of the day but a day designed to remember was torture to two people who only wanted to forget.
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Series: As You Wish [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1451569
Comments: 9
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short one shot (established Slibbs) of how Gibbs and Jack would cope with Veterans (Remembrance) Day. It's a bit rushed since the idea came to me this morning and I really wanted to get it out today. This is purely from Gibbs' perspective and I think it captures how he felt after his time in the Marines... I had a bit of a hard time because I know Gibbs is proud of his service, however in flashbacks you can tell that there's a part of him that resents being taken away from Shannon and Kelly when they needed him so I tried to find a balance. That being said I in no way have any experience in the military and this story in no way speaks for anyone other then Gibbs. 
> 
> The poem at the end is In Flander's Fields by John McCrae a Canadian doctor and Lieutenant Colonel in World War One.

He had never seen her in uniform, never mind her full dress uniform and the sight had him both completely stunned and wondering what she had been like when she had served. The casual way she was leaning against his kitchen counter, coffee cup in one hand and her phone in the other only added to the image in front of him.

“Mornin’, Cowboy.”

They had already said good morning to each other earlier but it was like he was saying good morning to a completely different person as he leaned in to drop a kiss on her cheek before pouring himself a coffee.

He knew it was going to be a bad day for her, the fact that they had both woken up to her screams not an hour earlier had cemented that fact. He didn’t enjoy this day all that much either, he understood the pride, the significance and the absolute importance of the day but a day designed to remember was torture to two people who only wanted to forget.

He saw her glance at his outfit out of the corner of her eye and was grateful that she didn’t comment on it. He had forgone his dress uniform and had chosen his nicest black suit, a poppy over his heart instead. He was proud of his service but his uniform was only a reminder of how much that service had cost him. He was one of the ‘lucky’ ones to have made it back with his life, a thought he had scoffed at for many, many years.

“Are you ready?” It was her voice that snapped him out of his reverie. “We’re meeting Leon and the kids at the yard in half an hour and traffic is going to be a nightmare.”

He nodded and downed the last of his scalding coffee as she pushed herself off the counter and started towards the door. She was halfway through the living room when he caught up with her and gently closed his hand around her wrist. She stopped and turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

He opened his mouth and then closed it, he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say to her. He just wanted her to know that she wasn’t alone.

“Gonna be right beside you.”

It wasn’t the promise he wanted to make but judging by the way her eyes softened she had understood the meaning behind it. She gave a barely perceptible nod and reached up to cup his cheek in her hand. She stroked her thumb over his cheekbone and nodded again.

“I know.”

The words were just above a whisper but they did wonders at putting him at ease, he knew that was her way of accepting his support. He turned his face and kissed the palm of her hand before stepping back.

“After you, Lieutenant.”

It was said just impishly enough that it cut through the seriousness of the moment and set them back to their usual lighthearted banter.

***

The lightheartedness only lasted them until they met with Leon, Ducky, Jimmy, Kasie and the rest of his team outside of the hall designated for the Veterans Day service. He noticed the shift in her mood immediately and saw the way she started twisting her hands together as soon as they had found a row of seats to accommodate all of them. He was seated on the end of the row, Jack at his side, Leon had slid into the seat next to her and Gibbs appreciated his effort. He knew that as much as he wanted to be there for her the one person she needed at that moment was Leon, the person who had been there to support her after Afghanistan.

Her hands continued to twist as people poured into the room and finally he glanced down the row to make sure his team was distracted before grabbing one of her hands.

He wanted to tell her that she was okay, that it would all be okay, but he knew that it would be a lie. She wasn’t okay, she had spent the night reliving her own personal hell and she was about to spend the next hour thinking about and remembering in detail each person she had lost. It had been thirty years since he had served and it still haunted him every single day, it had lessened and become slightly more manageable but her horrors were still relatively fresh, her losses still raw even after ten years.

She laced her fingers through his and he felt her take a deep breath beside him. She settled their hands in her lap and closed her other hand over his effectively cocooning his hand between both of hers. His hands remained there as the ceremony started and much of the way through it. He saw Leon’s hand come to rest on her knee every once in awhile and by the end of the ceremony the tears she had fought against so valiantly were silently falling down her cheeks. He could see each member of his team was close to if not already crying, each one thinking oflost team members, lost family members, their own memories made while serving their country.

He normally spent Veterans Day thinking about all of his fallen brothers and sisters, the people who had never been lucky enough to make it home. In the early days he had shed more than a few private tears for everyone he had lost in service, Military or otherwise, but sitting there watching Jack struggle for control he found it in himself to be grateful for the things that hadn’t been lost.

He had lost his wife and daughter, countless friends, brothers and sisters in the name of serving his country. He had gained PTSD, nightmares, memories of trauma and torture that no one should ever have to endure but looking down the row at Jack, at Leon and Ducky and all of his ‘kids’ he realized that maybe the idea that he was one of the ‘lucky ones’ wasn’t so ludicrous after all. He turned his attention back to the front as a local high school student began reading ‘In Flander’s Fields’. He let the words wash over him as he squeezed Jack’s hand.

_In Flanders fields the poppies blow_

_Between the crosses, row on row,_

_That mark our place; and in the sky_

_The larks, still bravely singing, fly_

_Scarce heard amid the guns below._

_We are the Dead. Short days ago_

_We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,_

_Loved and were loved, and now we lie_

_In Flanders Fields._

_Take up our quarrel with the foe:_

_To you from failing hands we throw_

_The torch; be yours to hold it high._

_If ye break faith with us who die_

_We shall not sleep, though poppies grow_

_In Flanders fields._


	2. We Lived, Felt Dawn, Saw Sunset Glow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's perspective, set a bit later in the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where this came from but here you go I guess... Same notes as before and the poem is still Flander's Fields by John McCrae.

She stood in the cemetery, the few loose strands of her hair blowing in the cold breeze as she stared down at the row of clean white headstones in front of her. The colour was so glaringly wrong to her, so clean when all she saw in her head were the brutal and bloody deaths of her brothers. There had been nothing clean about it.

She pulled her skirt up a little bit and knelt down in front of the middle headstone. She pressed her hand to the name on it and swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.

“I am so sorry.”

The words were a strangled whisper that ended in a sob as she bowed her head forward and let the overwhelming sadness she had been fighting all morning take over. Her shoulders shook as the sobs wracked her body, the only thing registering in her mind was how much pain she was in, the bite of the wind and the cold feeling of stone under her hand.

It was a few minutes before she felt a strong hand settle on her shoulder, she waited for the reassuring squeeze that she knew was coming and brought her free hand up to rest over his. She knew he wasn’t rushing her, he would let her cry until she couldn’t anymore, he was just keeping his promise to be right beside her.

“I hate this place.”

He didn’t ask why she had requested a trip to the cemetery if she hated it so much, she knew he understood her need to be with her boys. She knew there was a good chance he would be going to visit a few graves later that day, he just preferred to go alone. She normally preferred to be alone but that day she needed Gibbs, she needed his silent support, his unconditional and nonjudgemental love, even if he refused to call it what it was..

She stood up a few minutes later, her knees covered in dirt and her dress uniform considerably more rumpled than before. She took a deep breath and gave one last look at the graves in front of her before turning around. She grabbed Gibbs’ hand in hers and intertwined their fingers.

“Thank you for coming with me.” She muttered.

“Said I’d be right beside you.” He reminded her gently.

She nodded and looked around the cemetery, suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of headstones that surrounded them. The grass was blowing in the cool breeze and Jack could hear birds singing around them. Her mind flashed back to the poem they had heard earlier that morning.

_In Flanders fields the poppies blow_

_Between the crosses, row on row,_

_That mark our place; and in the sky_

_The larks, still bravely singing, fly._

She gave one last look around, her mind on how quickly things could change, every single one of these people had led lives before the military, had memories, probably had family and friends, had enjoyed life before it had been taken from them so suddenly. Her eyes turned back to Gibbs, he was studying her carefully and she could see the concern on his face.Suddenly all she wanted was to be home, in front of the fire safely incased in his arms, she knew the men buried beneath them would want her to live her life just as she would have wanted them to live theirs had the roles been reversed. She had paid her respects, she had begged for forgiveness and she finally felt a small amount of peace.

“Let’s go home, Cowboy.” She whispered.

_We are the Dead. Short days ago_

_We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,_

_Loved and were loved, and now we lie_

_In Flanders Fields._

**Author's Note:**

> This story is dedicated to all service men and woman from all over the world, thank you for all you do for all of us, day in and out, for putting your lives on the line, sacrificing time with your family and everything else you do that we civilians know nothing about. Thank You.


End file.
